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StuG G
The Sturmgeschütz III G (known as StuG G in Flames of War) was a German self-propelled gun of WW2, often used as a tank destroyer. Overview The StuG III G assault gun was by far the most widely produced and used in the StuG series. Between 1942 and 1945 over 7,700 were produced. The StuG used the hull of the Panzer III M with a low-profile superstructure. This made the assault gun incredibly difficult to spot as it lay in an ambush amongst dense terrain. Later versions were fitted with the Saukopf, or pig's head, gun mantlet. This slightly increased the armoured protection of the gun as is deflected incoming shots. A cupola was added for the StuG III G, making it a key distinguishing feature from the previous StuG F/8. This addition increased the assault gun commander’s visibility. Schürzen skirts were added for further protection from enemy hand-held anti-tank weapons, such as the bazooka or anti-tank rifles. In Flames of War For the Late-War standards, StuG G has comparable parameters to Panzer IV - sharing its Anti-tank value of 11, mobility, side armour 3 and top armour 1. As a compensate for improved frontal armour (7 against 6 in Panzer IV), the StuG has the forward firing rule. Both vehicles differ in point costs - the StuG costs 95 points per tank, Panzer IV - 90 points. Unit organization Flames of War reflects the Sturmgeschütz being treated by Germans as artillery units rather than tanks, thus a StuG III formation is called "a battery", not "a company". A Late-War battery in V4 is composed of a single command vehicle and two or three platoons, which might contain three or four vehicles per unit. The assault guns might also be deployed as a support for another formation or in lieu of Panzer IV platoons - up to two Panzer IV platoons might be exchanged for StuG platoons, on the condition that the HQ and one combat platoon are composed of Panzer IV. The "Ghost Panzers" campaign allows deploying StuGs as assault gun companies, composed on the following units: * Formation HQ - 1 or 2 StuG with 7.5 cm guns, 13 points per vehicle; * two or three combat platoons, with two, three or four vehicles costing 13 points per vehicle; one StuG in a three-vehicle platoon might be exchanged for StuH (10.5 cm) at no cost; * up to two optional Borgward Demolition Carrier platoons, with two, three or four vehicles in a platoon (1 point per Borgward carrier). Model kits * GBX 25 StuG G Platoon (metal/resin) * one-model blisters including the same model as in GBX25 * OFBX03 StuG G (plastic) * GBX83 StuG G Platoon (plastic) * TANKS P-04 StuG G expansion set (plastic, the same as GBX83) * GBX123 StuG (Late) Assault Gun Platoon (Plastic) (the same set like GBX83, with different decals and Mid-War unit cards) Model assembly The metal-resin Sturmgeschütz models as found in the GBX25 set do not require much assembly - only the resin hull needs to be cleaned from imperfections, as well as the die-cast parts. Cyanoacrylate glue is necessary to join the parts. Their plastic counterparts allow building either a mid-production StuG (January 1943-December 1944) or the final production variant from 1945 with a remote-controlled machinegun in a "V" shaped mount. Each sprue comes with four gun barrels: - one rectangular mantlet with 75mm gun; - one rectangular mantlet with 105mm howitzer; - one Saukopf ("pig's head") mantlet with 75mm gun; - one Saukopf mantlet with 105mm howitzer. The rectangular gun mantlets are supposed for the mid-production Sturmgeschützen (F/8 and early G), Saukopf mantlets - for the later production StuG III G models. The Sturmhaubitz 42 variant was commonly seen with the Saukopf mantlet; guns in the older rectangular mantlet were built in limited quantities. Both the metal/resin and plastic models allow being built with interchangeable gun barrels - the process requires a drill, modeling knife, and at least three 1mmx5mm rare earth magnets and is composed of the following steps: * the gun barrels (one 75mm and one 105mm, preferably the Saukopf ones to build vehicles legitimate both for Mid-War and Late-War games) must be removed from the sprues and have their hull plugs removed (cut or filed); * then one magnet is glued with cyanoacrylate to the part the plug was cast; * the gun plug port in the superstructure has to be removed, best by drilling it with a low-power drill (may also be trimmed by a knife when working in plastic, the resin must be drilled); * the magnet with the opposite polarization has to be glued to the port's remnant; * finally, the parts need to be left secured for about one or two hours, so the glue heals and binds the magnets. If the process is carried out as follows, it results in a tank unit, which might be armed both as tank destroyer (the StuG) or as an infantry support vehicle (StuH 42). The Sturmgeschützen built this way are also easier to paint, since the removable barrels help much in applying paint on the superstructure without imperfections. At the same time, magnetized barrels can simply be held for painting. Any metal surface shall do the trick. Painting The StuG is painted the same way as Panzer IVs are - the vehicles for Mid-War might be either painted with any deep yellow colour (for Afrika Korps and German units operating in the Southern parts of the Soviet Union) or field grey (suggested for the Eastern Front 1941-42). The tanks for Late-War period are recommended to be primed with dark yellow colour (most commercially available acrylics or enamels will match) and completed in green/brown camouflage. The tanks might also be winterized with a whitewash, which does not need to cover the entire summer colour scheme well. Combat efficiency The lack of movable turret combined with relatively weak armour makes the StuG G a vehicle more suitable for ambushes than frontal attacks. It also performs fairly good as a support vehicle or as an alternative for Panzer IV tank platoon, despite the higher point cost than the Panzer IV. The low profile of the Sturmgeschütz makes it a good candidate for placing in ambushes. Usually deploying Panzer IVs is a better idea than picking the Sturmgeschützen, due to the following reasons: * the StuG lacks movable turret, which limits its aiming; * a StuG platoon might contain up to four vehicles for 95 points per one (380 points), while Panzer IV platoons might contain up to five tanks for the cost of 90 points per tank (four Panzer IVs cost 360 points, 20 points less than the StuG); * the StuG battery command section in V4 contains only a single vehicle, while Panzer IV company HQ is composed of two tanks, which increases their chances of survival in the battlefield; * minimally better frontal armour in StuG helps only against the weapons with Anti-Tank up to 13 - those with AT exceeding the value of 13 penetrate StuG's armour as good as Panzer IV's one. The StuH42 variant performs excellently against unarmoured targets, due to Firepower 2+ and Breakthrough Gun rule - when expecting hordes of enemy infantry advancing, a platoon of StuH42 is a recommended choice for armoured backup. Image gallery GBX123-03.jpg GBX123-04.jpg|StuG platoon unit card. Notice it also provides the data about Sturmhaubitze 42 variant. magnetized StuG.JPG|An example of magnetizing a plastic StuG III G - three 1mmx5mm rare earth magnets allow swapping gun barrels. StuG platoon.JPG|A StuG platoon prepared for magnetization and painting - the vehicle first from left already has a magnet in the hull. jigs (5).JPG|Notice the magnet placement in the hull and the gun barrel. GBX143.jpg GBX143-02.jpg GBX142-Decal.jpg Category:German Category:Tanks Category:Vehicles Category:Mid-war Category:Late-war Category:Axis Category:Tank Teams Category:Armoured Tanks Category:Formations Category:Support